4Â Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2Â By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3Â and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4Â Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5Â They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6Â We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. [1]
My ThoughtsÂ
Who is the true Jesus? Is he a feeling or an emotion? Is he simply a good person? Was he just a prophet? He can encompass many things, but ultimately, Jesus is the Messiah. He is the son of the living God. When we consider Jesus, we must consider that he was not just God, but God indwelt in the flesh. This means that he became sinful man to die so that we might live.
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2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. [2]
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My thoughts
Having once been dead in sin, having been born into it through our natural desires. Jesus has come to set us free. That means that we no longer need to suffer for the sake of our disobedience to God. By believing in him and accepting the Gospel message, we are able to be free from the eternal consequence of sin. Furthermore, we are born again into the Kingdom of God.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits[3]
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4Â I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2Â preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3Â For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4Â and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5Â As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. [4]
My ThoughtsÂ
Numbers or profits cannot be justified as good fruits. The salvation of souls is the greatest measure that we can justify. Not simply from sin but to righteousness. In many ways, there are many popular people who stand in the face of this. They claim their burgeoning ministries' cash flow is due to the grace of God. But there are many who would rather claim the money as their own than give it to the glory of God. They claim God wants you to prosper. But in what way does he truly want you to prosper? I say true prosperity in Christ Jesus can only be found in following his ways dutifully and reaping the rewards of faith and spirit. Not in what is material but rather eternal. Every blessed soul is worth immeasurably more than any mountain of gold.
[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Jn 4:1–6.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Eph 2:1–10.
[3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Mt 7:15–20.
[4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Ti 4:1–5.